News

Broadband consumers to foot £500m bill to tackle online piracy – Times

January 4th, 2010

The disconnection plans set out in the Digital Economy Bill will cost consumers £500 million, according to admissions by the ministers.

Proposals to suspend the internet connections of those who repeatedly share music and films online will leave consumers with a bill for £500 million, ministers have admitted.
The Digital Economy Bill would force internet service providers [...]

Stephen Fry to judge three strikes law protest competition

December 21st, 2009

“The government’s proposed ‘Three-Strike’ Copyright Protection Law is ill-conceived, constitutionally outrageous, morally unfair and epically foolish.” – Stephen Fry.
 
Stephen Fry has agreed to judge a competition to create a protest song, poem or other form of artistic expression against the proposed ‘Three Strikes’ law.
The law is designed to protect the music and film industry against copyright [...]

Digital Bankruptcy – Index on Censorship

November 24th, 2009

Lord Mandelson seems hellbent on stifling online creativity, writes Bill Thompson on Index on Censorship.
These days history repeats itself three times, first as tragedy, then as farce and finally as an ill-considered and illiberal proposal from Lord High Executioner Mandelson, the unelected Minister for Stuff in Gordon Brown’s government.
We saw it recently when he decided, against [...]